'Mass Appeal' explores two priests' relationship

R.J. Cecott and Tim Kough rehearse a scene for the upcoming production, “Mass Appeal,” at the Oil Lamp Theater in Glenview.

R.J. Cecott and Tim Kough rehearse a scene for the upcoming production, “Mass Appeal,” at the Oil Lamp Theater in Glenview. (Gosia Photography)

Annie AllemanPioneer Press

Just like Harry Potter, at some point everyone has to choose between doing what is right and what is easy.

Priests are no different.

Glenview's Oil Lamp Theatre presents "Mass Appeal" March 8-April 8. Performances are at 8 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays and March 11; and 3 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. It is written by Bill C. Davis and directed by Keith Gerth of Northbrook, executive and artistic director of Oil Lamp Theater.

"Mass Appeal" is a two-man play about a very popular priest, Father Timothy Farley (Tim Kough), and a young upstart, Mark Dolson (R.J. Cecott). Father Farley is beloved by his flock because his sermons are witty and soft enough so as not offend.

Oil Lamp Theater performed it previously at their space in Chicago; Gerth starred in it as Father Farley.

"It's definitely a universal piece," Gerth said. "It's very much a generational story. You have this older gentleman, Father Farley, who is very set in his ways. He was a rebel in his younger days but as tends to happen as we get older, he settled into his lifestyle, got really comfortable in his job and in his parish, and challenged his congregation less and less over the years."

Through a series of events, a brash young seminarian — Mark Dolson — is assigned to him.

"He is sort of like a rebel with a cause and he really challenges Father Farley about how he has really given up on his original beliefs and his hopes and his passion and why he became a priest," he said. "They end up growing and learning from each other and it really re-ignites Father Farley's passion as to why he originally became a priest. It's just a beautiful story about reaching across generations and learning how to connect and learn from each other."

There are light and comedic moments in the play; Jack Lemmon starred as Father Farley in the 1984 big-screen version of "Mass Appeal."

"There were absolutely comedic moments in the movie and … the movie and the play are almost identical," Gerth said. "So there's definitely that sense of comedy in it, which adds relief to some moments which can be fairly intense, because it's an intimate play. So we really get to learn these characters in an in-depth way."

Gerth draws inspiration from not only his personal experience with the play, but from his own background.

"Both sides of my family were originally from Germany, and everyone was either a minister or a carpenter," he said. "So ministry and religion run deep in my family and understanding faith and love and what it means to be a Christian is definitely a very rich part of my heritage and my past. So I definitely understand these characters in a very deep way."

That understanding has promoted "really frank discussions" about the characters with his small cast, he said.

"It gave us a really strong framework to start our work and understand where we all are as it relates to such a powerful topic," he said. "Their courage is really inspirational to me. They dive in with both feet. They have taken on some really difficult topics — in the opening scene there is a conversation about should women be priests."

Gerth thinks audiences will enjoy the play.

"It does deal with religion but I think it's very approachable," he said. "It's not like we go through and analyze the church's position on various issues. It's really talking about these two and their relationship. It's not going to make people feel uncomfortable that we are going to make commentary about the Catholic Church. We don't want to put the Church in a bad light. That's not what this play is about."

The rehearsal process with Kough and Cecott has been incredibly compelling, he said.

"They're just fantastic actors and they're doing an amazing job," he said. "It has truly been an honor to take this journey with them. They are just so talented and so willing to explore so many issues. You get to learn a lot about these characters. It's so beautifully written; the writing is just fantastic. When we did it before, people just loved the show and I'm confident that it will do well in this community as well."